


So, I heard you like coffee

by ofthelabyrinth



Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: A lot - Freeform, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Modern Era, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Rivals to Friends to Lovers, aelins an anthropology major, dorians an english major, they both love books, will probably add more characters later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:15:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24593650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofthelabyrinth/pseuds/ofthelabyrinth
Summary: Dorian just wants the beautiful drink that was unjustly stolen from him.
Relationships: Aelin Ashryver Galathynius | Celaena Sardothien & Dorian Havilliard, Aelin Ashryver Galathynius | Celaena Sardothien/Dorian Havilliard, Dorian Havilliard & Chaol Westfall
Comments: 11
Kudos: 17





	1. Dorian

Dorian Havilliard was reading _Crime and Punishment_ in Erilea College’s best coffee shop, _Brew Ha Ha_ , when Aelin Galathynius waltzed into his life. He was somewhere in the middle and very invested at the time, but he can not remember it for his life. He got a C on his assessment for it, but the grade was well worth what came of his interaction.

The barista called his name once and his order three times before he finally heard it. He was far too invested in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel. However, by the time he was out of his seat, a tall, blonde-haired blue-eyed woman left the counter. In her hand, she was a steaming cup of coffee with a clearly visible “D, o, and r” written on it. 

He took a moment to consider if a potentially aggressive confrontation would be worth the three dollars he spent on it, it probably wouldn’t. Nevertheless, Dorian Havilliard was a man of principle and dignity. This, mixed with the fact that college students have many needs, and coffee is at the top of that list. He approached her table, even though she had already started drinking _his_ coffee.

“That’s my coffee,” he asserted, starting off as kindly as he could, even though he had a feeling that the emotion would not last long in their conversation.

It took her a second to register what he said, as though the implication that she was a thief was far less offensive than the fact he called her out on it, “It is a Miel latte. Also known as my order.”

Dorian’s response was quick, he was already exasperated with the blonde, “It is also known as _my_ order. Look at the name.”

She did, and the look on her face was unapologetic, “You can just take my drink, it’s the same thing. The name’s Aelin.”

Dorian walked away, annoyed. Once he got his (or, technically, her) drink, he went back to his book and assumed that that would be the last conversation he would have with the odd-named (and gorgeous) blonde. He was so very wrong.

Their next meeting happens about two weeks later. A petty part of Dorian can’t help but pull a stupid, beyond juvenile prank in retaliation for the stolen coffee. They’re both in the campus bookstore, Dorian, because he works there to help with checkouts and Aelin, a shopper. She strode over to a kiosk 25 feet away from him and mentions looking for a specific book, _Essentials of Physical Anthropology._ He knows he’s found his method of revenge. 

Dorian covertly slipped into the Anthro section, found the books, and moved them all into the Law section. It took two rounds and far too many close calls/bouts of almost falling over, but his mission got completed. As he makes his trip back, he notes his best friend Chaol watching him, with far too many questions in his brown eyes. Dorian knows _that_ conversation will not go down quickly or easily. His friend always assumes there’s more to what he does than even Dorian knows.

By the time he returns to the checkout station, the employee has finished directing her to the Anthropology section. She goes off on her journey. Aelin doesn’t seem to give up and returns to ask for further help a whole fifteen minutes later. The kiosk worker gets out to go with her, but not before he shoots Dorian a look asking for help, to which he only shrugs. The pair come back to check the computer system soon after.

Dorian stopped watching for a brief moment to help some students check out their books. He must have said, “Have a nice day!” a bit too loud. Or maybe the brief look from the kiosk worker (he should really learn his name) to himself because Aelin comes to him with fiery determination in her eyes.

“Hello, how are you doing? Where did you put my books?” She speaks quite rapidly. She undeniably wishes to end this conversation as soon as possible, which is the only outside appearance of her anger.

“Hi, I’m doing alright. What books?” He asks, with faux innocence. He follows it up by saying, just because he does have the ability to feel guilt. “ _Hypothetically_ , if I had something to do with their disappearance, they would just be on another shelf.”

“I swear to all that is holy and sacred, you pull shit like this again I’ll use my vast knowledge of Medieval weaponry and beat you up.” With that statement, she turned to continue her search. 

If Dorian were a lesser man, he’d be downright terrified. Still, since he is not, he starts wondering how he will explain his behavior to Chaol. The English major suspects it would take her twenty-five minutes, max. Somewhere in the back of his head, he realizes she’ll probably retaliate somehow, but he tries to focus on his victory.

Judging from the fact that their first meeting took place while he was reading and their second at a bookstore, he probably should’ve guessed that the library would not be safe. He would not be free from any possible retaliation. And yet, he did not. So he paid the price. 


	2. Aelin

What a little bitch.

Aelin understands being annoyed because someone accidentally stole your coffee, but making her run around a bookstore for over an hour was not on par with what she did, not in the slightest. The anthropology student needed a plan for vengeance. And quickly. She kept that thought tucked away in her head as she walked through campus. Not focusing on it specifically, but trying to garner inspiration from her surroundings as she did her daily activities. As she was in History 103, Aelin came up with an idea for pouring ice-cold water on him as he was walking out of the coffee store, but that felt too basic and uninspired. While walking back to her dorm, she wondered how scary it would be if Aelin jumped out of bushes screaming. None of the ideas she came up with were subtle and annoying enough. 

Eventually, she found it. It was so poetic Shakespeare must be rolling in his grave because he could never hope to replicate it. It was like a perfect game of Clue, Aelin stole Dorian’s pens with her genius in the library. She knew the student went to the library, even though she hadn’t seen him there. Where else would a distinct English major go to study? The dining hall?

The blonde spent far too much time scouting for her location, but even though because Dorian put no effort into his prank does not mean that she would. Besides, she needs the distraction, her life has been a mess as of late, and sometimes one needs a bit of foolish fun to get over heartbreak. It took a few days for her time in the building to coincide with his, but it was worth it.

She watched him study for enough time to figure out what days he would typically travel to the library and how long he would stay there. He always sat in the same spot, right next to the window and far from the vending machines, but his snack breaks were staggered and irregular. Aelin decided that she would delve into thievery during these breaks. 

On the fourth day of searching, she figured she knew enough about his schedule to act. Aelin found a place that was not one, but two bookshelves away from Dorian’s nook and waited. It was relatively late at night, the library largely unoccupied and with only a few people browsing the shelves.

Dorian was stupidly studious. If Aelin were a lesser woman, she’s one hundred percent sure that she’d call it quits. Finally, the dark-haired student went to get a snack from the vending machines. She seized this opportunity and stole his green secondary pen. The one he was using for the occasional underline as opposed to the writing pen or the highlighter, he would wonder where it went, but she’d have more than enough time to leave before he noticed. 

He was a tad quicker than expected, so her work was slightly sloppy, the highlighter a centimeter from its original position, and the paper ever so slightly tilted to the left. She hovered in a hiding place for a second, to see if that tipped him off. Aelin was somewhat delighted that it did, a tiny frown appearing on his face as if he was trying to convince himself that nothing moved. He searched the room, didn’t see anything of suspicion, and went back to… The Picture of Dorian Gray. Aelin scoffed at that but was curious to know what led him to that book. A love for Oscar Wilde? Vanity? His curriculum? She didn’t take more than a second to consider. Once the moment passed, her long strides took her to the door and back to her dorm. All she could do is find how best to continue this prank, and how far she could go before she should expect retaliation. Previous thoughts of heartbreak and missed opportunities were long gone from her mind for the first time in a while.

Aelin waited another day to steal another pen. She knew she couldn’t get too arrogant and wanted to take at least four writing utensils before he put suspicion on her. She moved to a different spot in the bookshelves and decided to wait until he was in the midst of a conversation with a Cosmetology major that was in one of her classes. Katherine? Kaitlin? Kaltain? Aelin couldn’t remember the name. But the student moved Dorian away from his desk and gave Aelin plenty of time to steal, so she mentally thanked the other girl.

She realized that if she only stole during specific times, he’d get suspicious and didn’t want that to happen until much later. He brought multi-colored highlighters today. She decided to take the blue one because he seemed like a blue-person. He was visibly more agitated when he noticed his missing highlighter, and guessing the perfect color to steal gave her a strange sense of satisfaction. 

This time the blonde decided to leave after him and picked up War and Peace to pass the time. And to impress any attractive person that came by, because why not? Dorian left at around 10 pm. No one came by, so all Aelin departed with was a blue pen and an odd feeling of disappointment.

This was the day she got caught. She had already added a red pen, pink mechanical pencil, and black marker to her stash of stolen goods and decided enough was enough. The schematics of her discovery weren’t agreed upon until she was looking for a perch. She found a desk that was far enough from him that it looked like she was genuinely hiding, but close enough that it became a horrible hiding spot. She didn’t look at him once but did not flip a single page. Aelin hoped that he was observant enough to realize that this was sketchy. 

She caught on the exact second that Dorian realized she was there, undeniably feeling his eyes on her. It took everything in her not to laugh, at least a little, as he wrote one last thing on his notebook before going off to the vending machines one more time. The most apparent trap possible, but getting caught was half the fun. She decided to take the bait, and as she was approaching an orange colored pencil, he returned, looking smug. Disproportionally smug.


End file.
